The City of Woodland California

California

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Records

The Records Division responds to requests for copies of police reports and other official documents which are received from private citizens, insurance companies and public agencies. The Division is also responsible for other functions such as front counter inquiries, warrant verification, statistical compilation for the U. S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, administration of vehicle tows and impounds, court document processing of subpoenas, defendant disposition forms and citizen restraining orders.

Property/Evidence

The Property and Evidence function is part of the Records Division. Specially trained Community Service Officers and Police Aides staff this part of the Division. It is part of their responsibility to collect property and evidence related to crimes and other Department cases, these staff members perform such duties as:

Crime scene assistance including latent fingerprint and photo analysis Preparation and presentation of evidence requested by the courts Destruction of drugs and firearms and purging and disposal of evidence from adjudicated criminal cases

Warrants

The Warrants Section of the Records Division received and processed 1,850 felony and misdemeanor warrants in 2004. The Division also maintains an active roster of outstanding warrants which numbered 970 as of the end of 2004. In the last year, 987 warrants were served, 392 were recalled by the court, and 208 were exceptionally cleared.

Crime Analysis Unit

The Crime Analysis Unit focuses on tracking crime within the City. A key area of analysis is gang activity. The unit tracks gang associations and activities and uses this data to identify key players and their associates.

The Crime Analysis Unit works closely with other allied agencies such as Yolo County Probation, State Parole and the California Youth Authority to monitor the status of individuals under their supervision. This networking function expands the Department’s pool of information regarding known offenders with a history of violence and provides valuable gang intelligence on those returning from confinement. The Unit, consisting of a Crime Analyst and a CSO, also creates maps and graphs representing crimes against property, which are submitted to The Daily Democrat for monthly publication as a public service.

Volunteering

The department has a volunteer coordinator whose duties are to develop and oversee the operation programs that include the VIP’s (Volunteers in Policing) and the Chaplaincy.

Volunteers in Policing: The VIP program officially was launched in January of 2001 with 20 volunteers helping in a variety of areas. They assist in the records division, investigations, patrol, administration and traffic. Some of the new projects within the program include the You Are Not Alone (YANA) project. This is a project designed to bring care to individuals who are shut in or don’t get out very often. Regular visiting makes sure they are safe and gives them company.

Another project is the Vacation Home Check project which looks after the homes of individuals who go on vacation. They register with the police department and the volunteers will patrol their homes on a regular basis to make sure it is safe. The volunteers are also involved in the Speed Watch Project and will soon be staffing the Community Services Center at the County Fair Mall.

Chaplains - The Chaplaincy is made up of 9 licensed and ordained ministers from the community who serve in a voluntary capacity helping the emergency personnel and the community during time of crisis. They were trained in an academy in Sacramento in addressing the needs of Law Enforcement and the community. They were instructed in many things, among them being crime scene integrity, death notifications and law enforcement protocol. Since the inception of the program in 1997, the Chaplains have been instrumental in helping officers as well as citizens of Woodland and Yolo County in time of need.